Download or read book Guns Germs and Steel The Fates of Human Societies written by Jared Diamond and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1999-04-17 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Fascinating.... Lays a foundation for understanding human history."—Bill Gates In this "artful, informative, and delightful" (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world. Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage, and then developed religion --as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war --and adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. A major advance in our understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, the Rhone-Poulenc Prize, and the Commonwealth club of California's Gold Medal.
Download or read book Critical Summary of Guns Germs and Steel The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond written by Dennis Bergot and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2004-02-17 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Economy - Environment economics, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Hamburg (Centre for Sea and Climate Research), course: Seminar Contemporary Environmental Problems, language: English, abstract: The starting point of Diamond’s book “Guns, Germs, And Steel” is a question he was asked by an indigenious New Guinean friend of his called Yali. His question was: “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?”1, adressing the obvious inequality in wealth and power of today’s world. With his book, Diamond tries to provide an answer for this question. According to Diamond, the immediate causes for the inequalities in the world today are to be found in the different stages of development between the continents as of around A.D. 1500. By that time, only societies of Eurasia, the landmass that constitutes Asia and Europe, and there especially the Western Europeans, possessed ocean-going ships, population-decimating germs, steel weapons, horses usable for warefare, easy spread of information by an efficient writing system and many other means that come in handy decimating, subjugating or in some cases even exterminating the originial inhabitants of other continents. Diamond calls these advantages the proximate factors of differing developments that led to the inequalities. The book’s title “Guns, Germs, And Steel” can be understood as a summary of these proximate causes. In chapter three of his book, Diamond cites as a prominent example of the inequalities the conquest by the Spaniard Francisco Pizarro and a few hundred soldiers over the Inca emperor Atahuallpa at Cajamarca/Peru in A.D. 1532. The Spanish got there and won because they possessed the above stated proximate factors. He then turns the point around and asks why, for instance, the Native Americans or Aboriginal Australians were not the ones who possessed these proximate factors and used them to conquer Europe. [...]
Download or read book Summary of Guns Germs and Steel written by Readtrepreneur Publishing and published by . This book was released on 2019-05-24 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies by Doug Ordunio - Book Summary - Readtrepreneur (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book, but an unofficial summary.) A Pulitzer Prize winning non-fiction book about how society was shaped and the numerous reasons of its current state. From the viewpoint of an evolutionary biologist, witness the culmination of Doug Ordunio's work about the rise of civilization. From the Ice Age to the current era, see how the world developed until it became what it's today. An amazing title that will test your knowledge of society and take it to a whole new level. (Note: This summary is wholly written and published by Readtrepreneur It is not affiliated with the original author in any way) "Much of human history has consisted of unequal conflicts between the haves and the have-nots." - Jared Diamond Covering societal advances in several areas like writing and religion, Guns, Germs and Steel offers an explanation about how society slowly evolve into its current state. A fascinating and revealing book which provides so much information that you didn't know about the human kind that will leave you in awe. Jared Diamond's 30 year research condensed in one brilliant title, Guns, Germs and Steel will redefine your current knowledge of society. P.S. Guns, Germs and Steel is an extremely informative book that will make you question a lot of topics related to the development of society. The Time for Thinking is Over! Time for Action! Scroll Up Now and Click on the "Buy now with 1-Click" Button to Download your Copy Right Away! Why Choose Us, Readtrepreneur? ● Highest Quality Summaries ● Delivers Amazing Knowledge ● Awesome Refresher ● Clear And Concise Disclaimer Once Again: This book is meant for a great companionship of the original book or to simply get the gist of the original book.
Download or read book The World Until Yesterday written by Jared Diamond and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-12-31 with total page 727 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bestselling author of Collapse and Guns, Germs and Steel surveys the history of human societies to answer the question: What can we learn from traditional societies that can make the world a better place for all of us? “As he did in his Pulitzer Prize-winning Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond continues to make us think with his mesmerizing and absorbing new book." Bookpage Most of us take for granted the features of our modern society, from air travel and telecommunications to literacy and obesity. Yet for nearly all of its six million years of existence, human society had none of these things. While the gulf that divides us from our primitive ancestors may seem unbridgeably wide, we can glimpse much of our former lifestyle in those largely traditional societies still or recently in existence. Societies like those of the New Guinea Highlanders remind us that it was only yesterday—in evolutionary time—when everything changed and that we moderns still possess bodies and social practices often better adapted to traditional than to modern conditions.The World Until Yesterday provides a mesmerizing firsthand picture of the human past as it had been for millions of years—a past that has mostly vanished—and considers what the differences between that past and our present mean for our lives today. This is Jared Diamond’s most personal book to date, as he draws extensively from his decades of field work in the Pacific islands, as well as evidence from Inuit, Amazonian Indians, Kalahari San people, and others. Diamond doesn’t romanticize traditional societies—after all, we are shocked by some of their practices—but he finds that their solutions to universal human problems such as child rearing, elder care, dispute resolution, risk, and physical fitness have much to teach us. Provocative, enlightening, and entertaining, The World Until Yesterday is an essential and fascinating read.
Download or read book Guns Germs and Steel written by Jared M. Diamond and published by Random House. This book was released on 1998 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book answers the most obvious, the most important, yet the most difficult question about human history: why history unfolded so differently on different continents. Geography and biography, not race, moulded the contrasting fates of Europeans, Asians
Download or read book Yali s Question written by Frederick Errington and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2004-11-15 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yali's Question is the story of a remarkable physical and social creation—Ramu Sugar Limited (RSL), a sugar plantation created in a remote part of Papua New Guinea. As an embodiment of imported industrial production, RSL's smoke-belching, steam-shrieking factory and vast fields of carefully tended sugar cane contrast sharply with the surrounding grassland. RSL not only dominates the landscape, but also shapes those culturally diverse thousands who left their homes to work there. To understand the creation of such a startling place, Frederick Errington and Deborah Gewertz explore the perspectives of the diverse participants that had a hand in its creation. In examining these views, they also consider those of Yali, a local Papua New Guinean political leader. Significantly, Yali features not only in the story of RSL, but also in Jared Diamond's Pulitzer Prize winning world history Guns, Germs, and Steel—a history probed through its contrast with RSL's. The authors' disagreement with Diamond stems, not from the generality of his focus and the specificity of theirs, but from a difference in view about how history is made—and from an insistence that those with power be held accountable for affecting history.
Download or read book Collapse written by Jared Diamond and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2013-03-21 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive is a visionary study of the mysterious downfall of past civilizations. Now in a revised edition with a new afterword, Jared Diamond's Collapse uncovers the secret behind why some societies flourish, while others founder - and what this means for our future. What happened to the people who made the forlorn long-abandoned statues of Easter Island? What happened to the architects of the crumbling Maya pyramids? Will we go the same way, our skyscrapers one day standing derelict and overgrown like the temples at Angkor Wat? Bringing together new evidence from a startling range of sources and piecing together the myriad influences, from climate to culture, that make societies self-destruct, Jared Diamond's Collapse also shows how - unlike our ancestors - we can benefit from our knowledge of the past and learn to be survivors. 'A grand sweep from a master storyteller of the human race' - Daily Mail 'Riveting, superb, terrifying' - Observer 'Gripping ... the book fulfils its huge ambition, and Diamond is the only man who could have written it' - Economis 'This book shines like all Diamond's work' - Sunday Times
Download or read book Europe and the People Without History written by Eric R. Wolf and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2010-08-22 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The intention of this work is to show that European expansion not only transformed the historical trajectory of non-European societies but also reconstituted the historical accounts of these societies before European intervention. It asserts that anthropology must pay more attention to history.' (AMAZON)
Download or read book Summary of Jared Diamond s Book Guns Germs and Steel written by Good Summaries and published by . This book was released on 2021-08-27 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond asks fundamental questions about humanity: why did different civilizations develop so unequally? Did some people possess certain advantages over others? What were they? To answer these questions, he undertakes a detailed analysis of human history across the globe beginning in 11,000 B.C. In his research, he discovers that the explanation lies in geography rather than biology, contrary to commonly held racist assumptions for why societies are so unequal. Geographical differences allowed some societies to develop food production earlier than others; they allowed technology to spread more quickly. in addition, he argue that the differences between different peoples and societies of the world are largely attributable to geographic differences between different world regions. Humans began pursuing agriculture in certain parts of the world because the fertile soil and temperate climate made agriculture a good use of time and resources. Agricultural societies gained tremendous advantages over non-agricultural societies because the increase in leisure time enabled people to develop technologies and centralized political structures. The proximity to animals gave people immunities to deadly diseases. As a result, some societies were able to conquer others. Read on to unearth the challenging, fascinating, and overwhelmingly important understanding of world history. Lessons from the past will equip us for the future. "Much of human history has consisted of unequal conflicts between the haves and the have-nots." ― Jared Diamond Disclaimer This summary is meant to enhance your reading experience. The insights, analysis, and overall essence is an unofficial work and not the original book. It is not intended as a substitute for the original work it summarizes. It is not licensed, approved, authorized, or endorsed by the original author or publisher.
Download or read book Upheaval written by Jared Diamond and published by Back Bay Books. This book was released on 2020-05-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Bill Gates Summer Reading Pick A "riveting and illuminating" (Yuval Noah Harari) new theory of how and why some nations recover from trauma and others don't, by the Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of the landmark bestsellers Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse. In his international bestsellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond transformed our understanding of what makes civilizations rise and fall. Now, in his third book in this monumental trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crises while adopting selective changes -- a coping mechanism more commonly associated with individuals recovering from personal crises. Diamond compares how six countries have survived recent upheavals -- ranging from the forced opening of Japan by U.S. Commodore Perry's fleet, to the Soviet Union's attack on Finland, to a murderous coup or countercoup in Chile and Indonesia, to the transformations of Germany and Austria after World War Two. Because Diamond has lived and spoken the language in five of these six countries, he can present gut-wrenching histories experienced firsthand. These nations coped, to varying degrees, through mechanisms such as acknowledgment of responsibility, painfully honest self-appraisal, and learning from models of other nations. Looking to the future, Diamond examines whether the United States, Japan, and the whole world are successfully coping with the grave crises they currently face. Can we learn from lessons of the past? Adding a psychological dimension to the in-depth history, geography, biology, and anthropology that mark all of Diamond's books, Upheaval reveals factors influencing how both whole nations and individual people can respond to big challenges. The result is a book epic in scope, but also his most personal book yet.
Download or read book Natural Experiments of History written by Jared Diamond and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-10-01 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some central questions in the natural and social sciences can't be answered by controlled laboratory experiments, often considered to be the hallmark of the scientific method. This impossibility holds for any science concerned with the past. In addition, many manipulative experiments, while possible, would be considered immoral or illegal. One has to devise other methods of observing, describing, and explaining the world. In the historical disciplines, a fruitful approach has been to use natural experiments or the comparative method. This book consists of eight comparative studies drawn from history, archeology, economics, economic history, geography, and political science. The studies cover a spectrum of approaches, ranging from a non-quantitative narrative style in the early chapters to quantitative statistical analyses in the later chapters. The studies range from a simple two-way comparison of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, to comparisons of 81 Pacific islands and 233 areas of India. The societies discussed are contemporary ones, literate societies of recent centuries, and non-literate past societies. Geographically, they include the United States, Mexico, Brazil, western Europe, tropical Africa, India, Siberia, Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific islands. In an Afterword, the editors discuss how to cope with methodological problems common to these and other natural experiments of history.
Download or read book Oration on the Dignity of Man written by Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-03-27 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ardent treatise for the Dignity of Man, which elevates Humanism to a truly Christian level. This translation of Pico della Mirandola's famed "Oration," hitherto hidden away in anthologies, was prepared especially for Gateway Editions, making it available for the first time in a stand-alone volume. The youngest son of the Prince of Mirandola, Pico lived during the Renaissance, an era of change and philosophical ferment. The tenacity with which he clung to fundamental Christian teachings while crying out against his brilliant though half-pagan contemporaries made him exceptional in a time of exceptional men. While Pico, as Russell Kirk observes in his introduction, was an ardent spokesman for the "dignity of man," his devout nature elevated humanism to a truly Christian level, which makes his writing as pertinent today as it was in the fifteenth century.
Download or read book Is Geography Destiny written by John Luke Gallup and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2003-08-04 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades, the prevailing sentiment was that, since geography is unchangeable, there is no reason why public policies should take it into account. In fact, charges that geographic interpretations of development were deterministic, or even racist, made the subject a virtual taboo in academic and policymaking circles alike. 'Is Geography Destiny?' challenges that premise and joins a growing body of literature studying the links between geography and development. Focusing on Latin America, the book argues that based on a better understanding of geography, public policy can help control or channel its influence toward the goals of economic and social development.
Download or read book The Social Conquest of Earth written by Edward O. Wilson and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2012-04-09 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Book of the Year (Nonfiction) Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence (Nonfiction) From the most celebrated heir to Darwin comes a groundbreaking book on evolution, the summa work of Edward O. Wilson's legendary career. Sparking vigorous debate in the sciences, The Social Conquest of Earth upends “the famous theory that evolution naturally encourages creatures to put family first” (Discover). Refashioning the story of human evolution, Wilson draws on his remarkable knowledge of biology and social behavior to demonstrate that group selection, not kin selection, is the premier driving force of human evolution. In a work that James D. Watson calls “a monumental exploration of the biological origins of the human condition,” Wilson explains how our innate drive to belong to a group is both a “great blessing and a terrible curse” (Smithsonian). Demonstrating that the sources of morality, religion, and the creative arts are fundamentally biological in nature, the renowned Harvard University biologist presents us with the clearest explanation ever produced as to the origin of the human condition and why it resulted in our domination of the Earth’s biosphere.
Download or read book Norse Greenland written by Jared Diamond and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-12-11 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A timely and fascinating exploration of the collapse of prehistoric Norse society in Greenland—excerpted from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jared Diamond’s Collapse This excerpt from the New York Times–bestselling book Collapse takes a timely and fascinating look at prehistoric Norse Greenland—the closest approximation of a controlled experiment in collapse in history. One island, two unique societies (Norse and Inuit). Only one of these societies would succeed—the other would fail. But how? With his trademark accessibility and comprehensiveness, Diamond documents how environmental damage, climate change, loss of friendly contacts and the rise of hostile ones, and the unique political, economic, and social settings of prehistoric Greenland combine to demonstrate exactly why and how societies choose to fail or succeed. Jared Diamond's latest book, The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?, is available from Viking.
Download or read book Summary of Guns Germs and Steel written by Fastreads and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-03-28 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Don't miss this summary of Jared Diamond's epic research into why some civilizations prosper and conquer, while others wither and disappear. His exhaustive tome, "Guns, Germs, and Steel" delves deep into the differentiating factors affecting humanity around the world since the beginning of recorded history. This FastReads Summary provides full chapter synopses, key takeaways, and analysis to help you cut to the core of this dense text and truly understand what has led society as a whole to where it is today. What Will You Learn from Reading This Book? Where humanity began and how it spread throughout the world What environmental factors affected the development of different societies around the world How agriculture and early food production led to the development of complex societies How large mammal domestication led to the development of infectious diseases that gave colonists an advantage over indigenous peoples How large-scale agriculture allowed societies to support non-food-producing individuals that developed important technologies What happens when two societies with their own agendas come in contact with each other for the first time What we can learn about the current state of the world with the clarity of hindsight that this book provides Book Summary Overview In "Guns, Germs, and Steel" readers have the chance to examine the course of human history on the broadest scale. Starting with the dawn of humanity and our spread out of Africa, Jared Diamond explains how the environmental, geographical, and ecological differences that were endemic to specific parts of the world led to differences in the development of the peoples in those parts of the world. This exhaustive tome leaves no stone unturned as Diamond searches for the answers to questions that have been asked time and again throughout history. Click Buy Now with 1-Click to Own Your Copy Today! Please note: This is a summary, analysis and review of the book and not the original book.
Download or read book Guns Germs and Steel The Fates of Human Societies 20th Anniversary Edition written by Jared Diamond and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Fascinating.... Lays a foundation for understanding human history."—Bill Gates In this "artful, informative, and delightful" (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world. Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage, and then developed religion --as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war --and adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. A major advance in our understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, the Rhone-Poulenc Prize, and the Commonwealth club of California's Gold Medal.
